While gunpowder more than gets the job done in most cases, its often possible that simple compressed gas can as well. Being fortunate to have reviewed multiple air rifles, I can attest that for certain circumstances (like anything one might shoot with a .22 LR), that they are excellent options for hunting, training, or legal compliance. Many cities do not allow firearms discharges within city limits, so air rifles are great to get around the rule.

The bane of many air rifles, especially break-actions has been the slow loading time. Until now, they have been single-shot weapons. GAMO has seen to correct this with the introduction of their latest air rifle, the Swarm Maxxim, which incorporates a 10-shot magazine into the break-action air rifle.

It’s not the only innovation too, namely their Recoil Reducing Rail system, which (finally) brings air rifles into parts commonality with modern firearms through a picatinny rail adapter that seeks to reduce the harsh vibrations of air rifle recoil so that most scopes can handle it. Combined with the SWA recoil pad, the air rifle will be extremely pleasant to shoot and soft on both optic and shoulder.

Finally, the common spring and piston powerplant has been replaced by pneumatic cylinders, which uses compressed gas instead of the normal compressed spring. GAMO claims this more consistent pressure, holding the .22 caliber pellets within a 40 FPS velocity range. The .177 pellets scream out the rifle at 1300 FPS.

One of TFB’s resident Jarheads, Nathan now works within the firearms industry. A consecutive Marine rifle and pistol expert, he enjoys local 3-gun, NFA, gunsmithing, MSR’s, & high-speed gear. Nathan has traveled to over 30 countries working with US DoD & foreign MoDs.